Kennedy Expressway construction moves to second phase; express lanes to close through fall
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Construction on the Kennedy Expressway will ramp up again Monday night, when crews will begin shutting down the reversible express lanes, which will be closed through the fall.
It's the second phase of a three-year $150 million project to rehab the decades-old expressway.
The Illinois Department of Transportation said crews will be patching pavement and fixing overhead lighting, among other updates along the Kennedy express lanes.
"Doing the big rehabilitation, it's going to prevent us from having to come back every couple years doing patching – that emergency patching that would see a couple times every year," said Jon Schumacher, Bureau Chief of Construction for IDOT.
Starting at 9 p.m. Monday, the express lanes will be shut down between the Edens Expressway junction and Ohio Street and remain closed through the late fall. Neither inbound nor outbound traffic will be able to use them.
Monday, March 11
- Starting at 9 p.m., the inbound Kennedy and Edens will gradually be reduced to one lane from just before the Edens junction to Irving Park Road (Illinois 19).
- The Wilson Avenue ramp on the inbound Edens Expressway, and the Montrose Avenue and Irving Park Road ramps on the inbound Kennedy Expressway will close.
Tuesday, March 12
- Starting at 9 p.m., the outbound Kennedy will be reduced to two lanes between North (Illinois 64) and Fullerton avenues.
- At the same time, outbound Kennedy intermittent ramp closures between North and Fullerton avenues also will take place.
Wednesday, March 13
- Starting at 9 p.m., the inbound Kennedy will gradually be reduced to one lane from Milwaukee Avenue to Lake Street.
- At the same time, the outbound Kennedy between Madison Street and Milwaukee Avenue also will be reduced to one lane.
Thursday, March 14
- Starting at 9 p.m., the outbound Kennedy will gradually be reduced to one lane between North and Fullerton avenues.
- At the same time, intermittent outbound Kennedy ramp closures between North and Fullerton avenues will also take place.
In addition, starting this week, the left lane of the inbound Kennedy Expressway will be closed between Chicago Avenue and Lake Street, and the left lane of the outbound Kennedy will be closed from the Jane Byrne Interchange to Grand Avenue for work on bridge cleaning, painting, and LED light installation at Hubbard's Cave.
The westbound Randolph Street ramp to the outbound Kennedy Expressway also will close the week of March 11, and is expected to reopen in the late fall.
IDOT said drivers who use the Kennedy Expressway should expect significant delays during the project, and allow extra time to drive through the area.
Drivers should consider alternative routes or public transportation instead of using the Kennedy Expressway.
The first phase of the three-year project, which focused on repaving the inbound lanes, was completed last fall.
The third phase next year will focus on repaving the outbound lanes.
With big slowdowns expected on the Kennedy, the CTA and Metra both are gearing up for more people to use public transit.
Metra made significant changes to the UP Northwest Line schedule last year for the first phase of the project, and will keep those changes in place this year.
The CTA also is encouraging people to use the Blue Line, which runs parallel to the Kennedy Expressway, to get between O'Hare International Airport and downtown Chicago, and plans to increase service across the system over the course of the year.